The Winnowing
by Valtharos
Summary: In a tumultuous world that follows the end of Vampire:The Masquerade Bloodlines our protagonist of the games events and Heather are reunited in a time of strife as rumors of an even more powerful artifact,all powerful elders and Gehenna emerge from the shadows.
1. An unexpected reunion

Heather and her friends backed down the dead ended alleyway away from the openly gloating group of boys, none below eighteen and none above the age of twenty five. She sighed as she reflected on the events that unfolded in the months after leaving her beloved master, a young male toreador named Sebastian.

The first few weeks were harrowing, heart broken and dejected there was times when she seriously considered ending it all, but only his promise that if the time was right he would come and find her kept her were times when she thought she saw him at the corner of her eye, only to realize ruefully that it was either a complete stranger or that there was no one there at all and although she knew it was probably her mind playing tricks on her deep inside she nursed a secret hope that he might be watching.

After a while however things changed as they invariably do with time. Her abilities as a ghoul waned, the pain lessened, the effect of the blood bond reduced somewhat and although she had not quite completely recovered but was still in a better state she went back to school to continue studying design. Although fashion design didn't appeal to her the way it once did, it helped distract her as did meeting and socializing with other people. Sadly however it seemed this very distraction from her woes was now the cause of a much bigger problem.

On that fateful day, although Heather wasn't really one for partying, clubbing and binge drinking one of her new found friends had badgered her into attending a party organized by one of the people at their school "Cmon Heather it'l do you good, you need to stop moping around at home beating yourself up over your lost love and get out and meet some new people, who knows you might even find an interesting guy or two" she said with a cheery wink and against her better sense Heather decided to go along with it, if only to simply not disappoint one of her friends.

The party was enjoyable even if some of the boys were a bit pushy, but trouble found them as soon as they left to head back home. A group of guys who seemed somewhat the worse for drink began to follow them, gradually growing more agressive as they escalated from shouting and calling out to them to finally trying to grab them which ended in them chasing Heather and her friends and hemming them into a non descript deadended alleyway.

Not for the first time Heather wished she was still with Sebastian, her vampiric lover and master although perhaps it was the first time she wished it were so due to his vampiric strength and inhuman ability to literally tear people apart.

"Oh come on girls, all we want is a little love. Surely that isn't too much to ask is it?" one of the largest and ugliest of the group called out as he leered at them as his cronies laughed and high fived.

"Just leave us alone allright!" Heather called out with a lot more courage then she felt as her small group of friends almost hundled behind her for protection "We don't want any trouble"

"Oh come now cupcake" thats no way to treat a friend another of the guys called out as they sauntered closer obviously enjoying himself tremendously when someone else spoke. Cold harsh and strangely threatening there was something about that voice that made everyone's hair stand on end except Heather who recognized it with a joyful thrill.

"Back off" a man said who had seemingly materialized out of nowhere between the two groups. He was dressed casually in a pair of dark blue jeans a t shirt and a zip up jacket although his appearance was unusual, on the whole he was immensely attractive

"What the.." one of the guys muttered uncertainly, rather surprised at the sudden appearance of the strange individual before him, when the leader of the group took charge again "And who the hell are you?" he sneered "their fairy god mother come to rescue them" he mocked.

"No" Sebastian replied pleasantly as if he were discussing the weather with a friend , "I'm the one who's going to bash your stupid head in if you don't leave immediately"

Both groups tensed, the group of Heather and her friends with fear while the group of louts with anger, a nonchalantly threat like that especially at a moment when they felt powerful and in control of the moment injured their ego, coupled with their poor impulse control, they were raring for a fight.

"Why you.." the leader spluttered with rage "Mark, Immanuel, get him!" he said viciously to two of his cronies standing at his side who after a moments hesitation rushed at the lone figure standing between them and their prize.

Without a moments hesitation the vampire easily and gracefully avoided their clumsy swings at him and grabbed them both by the throat hoisting them cleanly into the air as easily as if they weighed nothing pausing for a moment for effect he tossed them both to either side of him at high speed where they connected with the wall with sickening crunches.

"You see?" he said affably as though nothing had happened "I really wasn't joking about bashing your brains out you know" he continued in a matter of fact tone "though I'm more than willing to try something new you fellows might like" he said with a wink that was full of malice.

The thugs however were too busy staring at their friends who lay twitching on the ground,blood pooling around them at either side of the young man who stood before him. Then the brother of one of the men who had just been brutalized by Sebastian replied in a voice filled with hate and rage "you want to try something new do you?" he said before striding towards the lone individual who stood towards him, pulling a revolver out of the waistband of his jeans and pointing it at the man in front of him his hands shaking

"Go on kiddo, shoot" Sebastian called out cheerfully as if he were encouraging a friend to try something he was afraid of doing "go on, do it"

"I know he's helping us and all but I seriously think he's suicidal."one of Heather's friends muttered, "very cute though" she added absent mindedly almost as an afterthough and Heather fought the insane urge to giggle.

Meanwhile the two men continued to stare at each other for a few moments as both groups shifted uneasily at this sudden development,  
then the young thug glanced again at the body of his brother gritted his teeth and opened fire at the guy in front of him unloading all six bullets into him.  
Heather and her friends watched in horror as a bullet took Sebastian squarely in the head, the others finding their mark on various parts of his torso. However contrary to what everyone expected instead of falling to the ground he merely took a step back and began laughing.

Heathers friends gasped" and the young group of ruffians stared in disgust and horror at the guy in front of him.

"Oh well done, really well done" he called out to the man who had shot him "You have great aim, I'm impressed you didn't miss a single shot" "You ruined my clothes though" he sighed and in the blink of an eye he closed the distance between them, his fist encircling the gun in the other mans hand as he continued "It's still a pity I'm going to have to kill you though" he said almost ruefully as he crushed the weapon in his hand almost if it were styrofoam instead of reinforced metal before throwing the lump of metal to his side so hard it cratered in the wall and stuck there

The other man blanched and backed away so fast he fell over backwards nevertheless continuing to scramble away on his hands, away from the strange apparently bulletproof creature in front of him, too scared for his life to care for retribution for his griveously injured sibling

"Don't worry though" Sebastian said in a lower tone "You won't die alone, your friends will join you too, and as a bonus I won't even draw it out. I'l ensure that its really quick and pain free. Come on, it doesn't get better than that" he continued almost as if he were a friendly but slightly disinterested salesman trying to get someone to buy a product.

The group of thugs who had so far been too busy staring at shock with the events unfolding in between them were suddenly brought back to Earth with an unpleasant shock.

"bu.u..u..t we didn't do nothing" the leader spluttered nervously "he shot you" he said instantly turning on his former friend in an effort to save his skin while his cronies started backed away slowly "ah ah ah" Sebastian said shaking a finger at them as if he were a mildly reproving schoolteacher talking to a favored but somewhat foolish student "you're forgetting the fact that you chased, harrassed and threatened someone very very important to me, So I'm afraid I really have no choice" he said shrugging slightly.

"Which one of us is the really important one he's referring to" one of Heather's friends muttered timidly. A question that was instantly answered by what happened next

"Sebastian, please" Heather called out somewhat timidly "I really don't want you to kill anyone, not even them"

Sebastian turned around and smiled at her with genuine pleasure, all traces of malice and mockery gone "Heather.." he said with genuine affection in his voice "as you wish"  
He turned back to the group of thugs in front of him, quivering with fear and called out "allright boys, it's your lucky day, pick up your friends and leave, but be warned, mentioned a word of this to anyone and I will find you, and I WILL kill you. Slowly, Painfully" he said drawing the last word out and laying emphasis on it and for the first time he abandoned the tone he had used all through out and spoke harshly"

"no..n..no..we won't mention nothing to no one" the leader stammered, all trace of bravado gone "ju..ju..just please let us go sir"

"Ahh. how nice to see you speaking politely" Sebastian said,"makes a great change, now pick up your friends and leave"

As the youngsters went to pick up their friends, Sebastian closed the distance between him and the group of Heathers friends once again nearly instantly so suddenly that one of her friends squealed and fell backwards, however he took no notice of it.  
"Heather" he said with a smile which she returned before embracing her "I'm so glad to see you" she said weepily . "As am I love" he murmured "and I'm sorry, I thought my leaving you would keep you safe, apparently thats not the case"  
"Oh don't worry" she joked through her tears, "If a life and death struggle is what it took to get you back it's really not that bad now is it.

Sebastian drew back and looked at her for a moment before replying with a smile "I always knew you were a strange girl. Cmon lets go"

And go they did.


	2. Explanations and Apologies

The motley group walked in silence each unsure of what to say and engrossed in their own thoughts, Heather with her fears of abandoned, her friends who could still not understand what exactly happened, who or even what their mysterious savior was but too intimidated to ask and finally our protagonist who mulled over how to handle this violation of the masquerade, Being of the Toreador bloodline he could not simply influence them to forgot and while killing them was an option, it was one that neither sat well with him nor did he think would endeavor him to Heather, he doubted there was anyone in the city who would even bring it up but on principle alone he abhorred violating the masquerade, growing up in the age of the internet he had seen the brutality that mobs armed with fire and steel could wreak upon their own neighbors for the simple sin of being of a different tribe or religion, he shuddered to think of the fate that would befall him and the kindred if the world realized that true monsters walked among then.

Finally,almost as if waking from a reverie he spoke "Suns gonna come up soon" he said slowly as they trudged along

"Does this mean you're leaving again?" Heather asked coming to a stop with a quiver in her voice, unsure of whether she wanted an answer, after all this time without him, she wasn't sure if she could bear to lose him again just a short while after finally being reunited.

"Heather, look" Sebastian began with a sigh before running his hand through his hair and looking away awkwardly "Things got dangerous and I wasn't sure if being with me was the safest place for you" he continued slowly

"And now?" She asked with a hint of hope in a voice "Do you still feel that way?"

"Things have calmed down now but Heather, ultimately you're still just human"

Heathers friends had so far mutely observed this exchange unable to fathom what was going on and why, but it was at this point that one of them interjected.

"Excuse me, but only human? What are you then? And What is going on? I don't mean to be rude and I am grateful to you for saving us but I just don't understand"

Sebastian turned to her with a sigh and said "Look, I'm sorry but I can't explain it all to you, and trust me its for your own good, the sooner you put this all behind you the better, All I can say is there are things out there and if they know that you know, they will come for you and they will not be kind"

A hush fell on the group before one of them said.

"You're a vampire, aren't you?"

Heather blanched at this while Sebastian turned towards the girl with narrowed eyes "And you know this how?" he asked with the hint of a snarl on his face.

"well,um" the girl stammered before losing her composure "you mentioned the sun coming up and heather asked if that meant you were leaving plus the stuff you did earlier..and well" she continued before finally trailing off into silence.

"Hmm, I don't know what you think you know, or don't know but I suggest you forget it" Sebastian said firmly.

"Look heather, I really must be going but I promise you this, I will be in touch. Soon"

"you promise?" she asked not sure if she dared to believe him

"I promise" he said before walking away a few steps then, with a burst of celerity he was gone.


End file.
